Garment-containing bags

ABSTRACT

A novel garment-containing bag of improved strength is disclosed. The bag contains sets of angular, continuous, heatsealed cross seams which contain a circular connection at the upper end, to prevent tearing of the bag during use.

O Umted States Patent 11 1 1111 3,865,235

Levy et al. 1 Feb. 11, 1975 [5 GARMENT-CONTAINING BAGS 2,297,860 10/1942Aranow 223/95 7 Inventors: on Le y, Valley St eam; ionsiin ..06/287 1 get 1| 206/390 Joseph Amh'my Kleselt Kmgs Park; 3,749,237 7/1973 DOl'IOn206/390 Murray H. Honig, Franklin Square, all of NY. PrimaryExaminerWilliam I. Price [73] Assgnee v Poly-Pal" New York AssistantExaminerBruce H. Bernstein Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Lerner, David,Littenberg [22] Filed: May 8, 1973 & Samuel [21] Appl. No.: 358,585

52 us. c1 206/286, 150/1, 206/390, [57] ABSTRACT [51] Int Cl 206/820 gig g A novel garment-containing bag of improved strength [58] Field ofSearch 150/1; 229/48 T; 223/92 15 dlsclosed. The bag contams sets ofangu/ar, centmnous, heat-sealed cross seams WhlCh contam a clrcular223/98, 206/286, 287, 390 I connectlon at the upper end, to preventtearmg of the 56] References Cited bag durmg UNITED STATES PATENTS 5Claims, 3 Drawing Figures 2,177,492 10/1939 Kohl 206/287GARMENT-CONTAINING BAGS The present invention relates to a novel bag forcontaining various garments, and for protecting these garments. Moreparticularly, the invention relates to such garment-containing bagswhich are constructed in such a manner as to provide a strengthened andpermanent protective cover for such garments.

The use of transparent plastic bags for the protection of garments andother such articles has become a widely utilized technique. These bagsare now most conveniently supplied in roll form in a continuous seriesfrom which the individual bags can be successively detached for easyuse. One particular method which has proved eminently successful is amethod according to which a garment is suspended in vertical dispositionand the foremost bag of a series drawn down over the same andsubsequently detached. An example of such a bagging procedure iscontained in U.S. Pat. No. 3,181,773 to Jelling et al.

For reasons of economy as well as ease of storage and use, these bagsare generally fabricated of a pliable plastic material such aspolyethylene. Further, to provide that such bags adapt readily to theshapes of the articles to be covered, and also for reasons of economyand to minimize their weight, these bags are generally fabricated with aminimum wall thickness.

The use of such bags with very small wall thicknesses, and made of apliable plastic material wherein a garment, generally disposed on ahanger the neck of which protrudes through an opening in the upperportion of the bag has, however, not been entirely satisfactory. Thatis, the pressure applied upon the upper portion of the closed bag hascaused the top of the bag, however sealed, to tear, therefore causingthe bags to fall off of the garments. A typical example of theconstruction of these prior known garment bags is contained in U.S. Pat.No. 3,007,567 to S. Rosen.

To overcome these problems, the present invention contemplates theprovision of a highly improved bag, which is prepared in such a manner,and sealed in a highly specific manner at the top thereof, such that aseal of greatly improved strength is maintained, and further such thatthe pressure applied to the upper portion of the bag is dispersed alongits surface, and a bag of highly improved quality is obtained.

It is thus the principal object of the present invention to provide agarment bag which is simple in construction, easy to use, effective inits protection, and is of substantially a non-tearable nature in itsnormal usage.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a garment bagwhich is sealed at the top, and which is of a strength by which the sealcan be maintained under extreme stress.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a garment bagwhich is advantageously made of tubular sheets of transparent syntheticplastic materials, and is provided with heat-sealed seams.

Other objects and advantageous features of the present invention will beapparent from the description and claims.

The nature and characteristic features of the invention will be morereadily understood from the following description, taken in connectionwith the accompanying drawings forming part thereof, in which:

FIG. 1 is a view in perspective of the garment containing bag inaccordance with the invention;

FIG. 2 is a front elevational view of the garmentcontaining bag of FIG.1; and

FIG. 3 is a horizontal or transverse sectional view of the bags shown inFIGS. 1 and 2.

It should, of course, be understood that the description and drawingsherein are illustrative only, and that various modifications and changescan be made in the structure disclosed without departing from the spiritof the invention.

Like numerals refer to like parts throughout the several views.

The garment-containing bags in accordance with the present invention canbe made of any desired material, but it is preferred to employ a tubularsheet of a transparent synthetic material which is inert, flexible butrelatively inelastic, and which can be heat sealed or seamed. Aparticularly suitable material is polyethylene in film form of athickness and range from about 0.0005 millimeters to about 0.003millimeters. Polypropylene of similar thicknesses may also be employed.

Referring now specifically to the drawings, the numeral 3 generallydesignates the garment bag of the present invention, which for purposesof description will be described as having an upper portion generallydesignated by the numeral 15 and a lower portion generally designated bythe numeral 16, and in addition although the bag will generally beformed from a continuous tubular sheet, it will normally be flattened,as when contained on a roller, and will have a front face 13 and a rearface 12 (see FIG. 3), again for purposes of ease of description. Thegarment bag will be of generally conventional construction as describedherein. That is, the garment bag 3 may be constructed of poly propyleneor polyethylene and may be of conventional size for receiving garmentssuch as a suit, trousers, etc. or other garments normally disposed in agarment bag and supported from a garment hanger 11 having a supportinghook 10 extending upwardly therefrom and normally received within anopening, 7, disposed in the center of the upper portion 15 of thegarment bag 3, i.e., where the front and rear faces, 13 and 12,respectively, converge.

Each garment bag 3 is a section of a roll of such bags 1 disposed on aroller 2 from which a continuous supply of such bags may be withdrawn.Each such bag is thus delineated by a plurality of equi-distantly spacedtransverse lines 4 of perforations which constitute tear lines anddivide the roll of garment bags into a sequence of separable sections orbags having, as noted, upper and lower portions 15 and 16, and front andrear faces 13 and 12, respectively. The method of forming and thearrangement of the perforations are known to those skilled in the artand require no more explanation in this text.

In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention,cross seams 5 are provided in order to provide a seal between the frontand rear portions, 13 and 12, of the garment bag 3, at the upper portion15 thereof. These scams 5, which are interrupted at the center toprovide an unsealed portion, or opening 7, through which the supportinghook 10 of the garment hanger 11 may extend, form the single mostsignificant aspect of the instant invention. It has thus been discovered that these seams 5 may be disposed upon the garment bag 3 in amanner such that a significant strengthening of the seam maintainedbetween the front and rear portions, 13 and 12, of the garment bag 3 maybe provided.

Said cross seams 5 are disposed in angular disposition to the transverseperformations 4, and are provided with a curvature 21 at the upperportion thereof concave to the opposing cross seam, and to the opening,7, therebetween. Said curvature at the upper portions of said crossseams 5 is preferably circular in nature, having a radius 6 of betweenabout 1 inch and 4 inches, and preferably between 2 inches to 2.5inches, so as to conform to the neck portion of the garment adjacent tothe opening 7.

The seams, 5, which are preferably heat sealed, consist of at least onecontinuous seal but preferably two parallel continuous seals disposed onthe surface of the upper portion of the garment bag 3 so as to seal thefront and rear faces thereof, 13 and 12 respectively, together, thusclosing the upper portion, 15, of the garment bag, except for theopening 7, which remains between the curved faces of the cross seams 5.The parallel sets of seals are made continous by a seal, preferablycircular, connecting the parallel seals at the curved upper end thereof.These sealed cross seams will preferably be disposed at an angle 9 tothe transverse performations 4 of between 1 10 and 146, preferablybetween 1 16 and 126, i.e., such that the angle between the sealed crossseams, 5, and the transverse perforations, 4, will be between 17 and 35,preferably 27 to 32, dependent on the type and shape of hanger to beutilized. Additionally, the use of a cross seam comprising a continuousdouble seal as described herein, which is completed by an angular sealat the upper portion thereof, allows for the provision ofa set-back 8 offrom 0.5 to 1 inch, preferably 0.625 to 0.75 inches between thecompletions of the seals and the transverse perforations, 4. V

It is also within the scope of the present invention to provide seals,5, consisting of individual perforations formed in substantially thesame shape as described above with respect to the heat sealed crossseams, 5. it is essential, however, that the curved portion 21 terminateat a point 22 which is spaced a distance from a line extending from theend of the main shoulder portion 23 of the cross seams 5.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles ofthe invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes willreadily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limitthe invention to the exact construction and operation shown anddescribed, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalentsmay be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention asclaimed. 5

What is claimed is:

l. A garment-containing bag for use with a garment hanger comprising acontinuous tubular sheet of flexible heat-sealable material which may beformed in a flat tubular shape having a front and a rear faceterminating at a pair of longitudinal edges, said garmentcontaining bagincluding a first end and a second end formed by transverse perforationscircumscribing said tubular sheet, and a pair of heat-sealed portions atsaid first end of said garment-containing bag so as to maintain saidfront and rear faces in flat adherent contact at said heat-sealedportions, said heat sealed portions including a main shoulder portionand a curved portion, said main shoulder portion including a first endand a second end, and said curved portion including a first end and asecond end, said first end of said main shoulder portion joining saidfirst face to said second face at one of said longitudinal edges, andsaid second end of said main shoulder portion joining said first face tosaid second face at said first end of said curved portion, said secondend of said curved portion joining said first face to said second faceat a point spaced from said first end of said garment-containing bag,said second ends of said curved portions of said heat-sealed portionsspaced apart so as to provide a central interrupted portion for theinsertion of said garment hanger therebetween, said second end of saidcurved portions further being displaced from a line extending from saidsecond end of said main shoulder portion to a point dividing saidcentral interrupted portion at said first end of said garment-containingbag.

2. The garment-containing bag of claim 1 wherein said heat-sealedportions comprise a plurality of parallel heat-sealed cross seams joinedat said second end of curved portion of said heat-sealed portion suchthat continuous heat-sealed portions are provided.

3. The garment-containing bag of claim 1 wherein said curved portions ofsaid heat-sealed portions are circular and in opposing concave relationsaid circular portions having a radius from about 1 to 4 inches.

4. The garment-containing bag of claim 1 wherein the angle between saidline joining said second end of said main shoulder portions of saidheat-sealed portions and said point dividing said central interruptedportion at said first end of said garment-containing bag and said firstend of said garment-containing-bag is from 17 to 35.

5. The garment-containing bag of claim 1 wherein the distance from saidsecond end of said curved portion of said heat-sealed portions to saidfirst end of said garment-containing bag is at least 0.5 inches.

1. A garment-containing bag for use with a garment hanger comprising acontinuous tubular sheet of flexible heat-sealable material which may beformed in a flat tubular shape having a front and a rear faceterminating at a pair of longitudinal edges, said garment-containing bagincluding a first end and a second end formed by transverse perforationscircumscribing said tubular sheet, and a pair of heat-sealed portions atsaid first end of said garment-containing bag so as to maintain saidfront and rear faces in flat adherent contact at said heat-sealedportions, said heat sealed portions including a main shoulder portionand a curved portion, said main shoulder portion including a first endand a second end, and said curved portion including a first end and asecond end, said first end of said main shoulder portion joining saidfirst face to said second face at one of said longitudinal edges, andsaid second end of said main shoulder portion joining said first face tosaid second face at said first end of said curved portion, said secondend of said curved portion joining said first face to said second faceat a point spaced from said first end of said garment-containing bag,said second ends of said curved portions of said heat-sealed portionsspaced apart so as to provide a central interrupted portion for theinsertion of said garment hanger therebetween, said second end of saidcurved portions further being displaced from a line extending from saidsecond end of saId main shoulder portion to a point dividing saidcentral interrupted portion at said first end of said garment-containingbag.
 2. The garment-containing bag of claim 1 wherein said heat-sealedportions comprise a plurality of parallel heat-sealed cross seams joinedat said second end of curved portion of said heat-sealed portion suchthat continuous heat-sealed portions are provided.
 3. Thegarment-containing bag of claim 1 wherein said curved portions of saidheat-sealed portions are circular and in opposing concave relation saidcircular portions having a radius from about 1 to 4 inches.
 4. Thegarment-containing bag of claim 1 wherein the angle between said linejoining said second end of said main shoulder portions of saidheat-sealed portions and said point dividing said central interruptedportion at said first end of said garment-containing bag and said firstend of said garment-containing bag is from 17* to 35*.
 5. Thegarment-containing bag of claim 1 wherein the distance from said secondend of said curved portion of said heat-sealed portions to said firstend of said garment-containing bag is at least 0.5 inches.